Vegas’ foremost MMA oddsmaker Hugh Citron chimes in

UFC 162, set for Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, features Anderson Silva stepping into the Octagon for the first time since October to defend his middleweight title against Chris Weidman. Silva is the -230 favorite at the LVH SuperBook, while Weidman is being offered at odds of +195.

Silva (33-4) is regarded by many MMA observers as the greatest fighter of all time. He’s held the middleweight belt for nearly seven years and has won 17 straight bouts.

But the 29-year-old Weidman, a two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Hofstra, is a perfect 9-0 and comes off a two-round TKO over Mark "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" Munoz last July.

As dominant as the 38-year-old Silva has been in his career, his vulnerability may have been exposed when he was nearly beaten by Chael Sonnen in UFC 158 on July 7, 2012.

Silva can be had for as low as -220 around Vegas, while underdog bettors can find Weidman for as nice a price as +215.

As always for major UFC events, we turn to Hugh Citron, the first oddsmaker in Las Vegas to post numbers on MMA fights, for his opinion on Saturday night’s match:

“One thing the UFC is great at doing is putting a lot of hype on fighters as they come into a big event. Weidman is undefeated and getting attention from bettors, as the price on the favorite Silva has dropped from about -260 to as low as -220 in some spots.

“To me, the fight is largely dependent on this: is Anderson Silva still the same fighter who became one of the best ever? But even if he’s lost a little in his late 30s, I’m not sure if Weidman has any skill set Anderson hasn't seen and beaten before.

“I always lean toward trying to play a dog in MMA fights, but I’m just not ready to go overboard on a guy who's only had nine fights. This clearly is the biggest fight of Weidman’s career, and nerves can be a factor. Silva has been main-eventing big UFC shows for the last seven years without a loss.

“As far as a pick, I’ll leave it up to the bettor. I never fault anyone for taking a shot on a dog in a UFC fight, but this is also a good opportunity to back one of the sport’s all-time greats at a reasonable price.”